Horse won’t go on the bit for me

[PeachnRo38197]

hi guys,

[small backstory - I have ridden horses since I was a tot. Did pony club, showjumping and a small stint in eventing until my mid 20s. Got a bad fall, fell out of love with the sport, and didn’t ride for 15 years. This summer I bought a cob cross who knows his job. It’s all coming back to me a lot quicker than I expected and now that we’re a bit used to eachother I’d love to get out and do some comps but I just need some help with. A few things first!! Hence why I’m here!]

So my horse is a very pretty mover, and I’ve been thinking of doing some unaffiliated dressage (intro/prelim levels) to just get back into competition mode. He really uses himself well, however he absolutely hates contact with his mouth and won’t go on the bit for me in a trot (I know your first thought is he needs his teeth done - his teeth are completely fine. I also got him checked by the vet, and the physio and he is completely sound, healthy.), however he will go on the bit and take up a lovely outline when he’s walking and cantering (sometimes when cantering he’ll throw his head up, but as soon as I play with his mouth he works back into the contact). However, In a trot, he either throws his head around, leans on the bit and tries to run through it, or just keeps his head up high. The only time he is likely to go on the bit when trotting (and I mean for a split second) is when I collect and steady him up and sit the trot rather than rise.

is there anything I can do or any tips you have to help him? My instructor always makes me hold an incredibly firm contact to the point where I find it’s a bit too firm (I have quite soft hands so it feels horrible to me) and play with his mouth but it does nothing but hold him up - my instructor just tells me that eventually he’ll drop his head and understand that I’m asking him to do that but I actually find that doing that to him makes him incredibly tense - he leans on me even more, and just overall looks and feels very uncomfortable.

I just need some guidance on what else to try because he’s so willing when walking and cantering, it’s just the trot for some reason he won’t do it!

 

[stangs]

a) You haven't mentioned him having been seen by a dentist. If he hasn't, I'd get one out. If he has, and they were the ones who said his teeth were fine, I'd get a bit fitter out asap.

b) You say he works on the bit in walk and canter. If you look at videos of yourself riding him, is his back actually lifted and working as it should be if he's working in an outline? Is he properly stepping underneath himself? Your instructor, from what you've described, isn't teaching you how to get him working in an outline - they're telling you how to see-saw him into keeping his head where it 'should' be without any consideration for why it's not there naturally.

A strong contact will make a horse work on the bit, for the simple reason that all the heavy hands in the world cannot make a horse work over their back and through their hind. The lighter the better, if you ask me.

c) The behaviour you describe in trot could potentially suggest an underlying problem; it definitely shows discomfort. But, again, get a bit fitter out (and hire a better instructor!) before you start considering that.

 

[PeachnRo38197]

a) You haven't mentioned him having been seen by a dentist. If he hasn't, I'd get one out. If he has, and they were the ones who said his teeth were fine, I'd get a bit fitter out asap.

b) You say he works on the bit in walk and canter. If you look at videos of yourself riding him, is his back actually lifted and working as it should be if he's working in an outline? Is he properly stepping underneath himself? Your instructor, from what you've described, isn't teaching you how to get him working in an outline - they're telling you how to see-saw him into keeping his head where it 'should' be without any consideration for why it's not there naturally.

A strong contact will make a horse work on the bit, for the simple reason that all the heavy hands in the world cannot make a horse work over their back and through their hind. The lighter the better, if you ask me.

c) The behaviour you describe in trot could potentially suggest an underlying problem; it definitely shows discomfort. But, again, get a bit fitter out (and hire a better instructor!) before you start considering that.

Apologies! He has been seen by a dentist - I thought I had said that but yes his teeth are fine. Next time I’m doing flatwork I’ll get my friend to film me and have a look. I thought it was discomfort too which is why I asked his physio (she’s an amazing physio and he gets physio and massage every month) and he said all seems okay but to get a check with the vet nonetheless. The vet did a full check up and said he was perfect, she’s also a great, and very experiences vet so I’m inclined to take her word for it and my physio’s word too. I’ll certainly consider a bit fitter, he’s currently in a hollow mouth sweet iron loose ring snaffle which he seems to like and it looks as though it’s a perfect fit for him however maybe it’s not suiting him after all. Thanks.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

It sounds like his rushing so is unbalanced but difficult to say without actually seeing him.

Do you have an instructor?

 

[ycbm]

as soon as I play with his mouth

and play with his mouth

I think you need a better instructor. This is not the way to get a horse to work on the bit.

Other than that it's difficult to offer advice without seeing you and the horse, I'm afraid.
.

 

[scats]

The bit that stands out for me is ‘playing with his mouth’. Many horses dislike the varying contact that this brings and it won’t create a true connection, usually just encourages them to drop their head behind the contact to get away from the fiddling, which people them wrongly think is ‘on the bit’.

I would try a different instructor.

 

[Cortez]

NONE of that is how you get a horse to give to the bit and move forwards. I suggest you get a proper instructor that knows what they’re doing.

 

[Snowfilly]

Your instructor sounds like an idiot. You don’t hold a horse on the big, you ride it forward into the contact.

You need someone who understands what they’re doing.

It’s possible your rising trot is throwing him off balance and making it impossible for him to work through from behind, but it’s equally possible all you’ve done so far is hold his head in a forced position and contact and he hasn’t actually been on the bit at all. Impossible to say without seeing you.

 

[ownedbyaconnie]

Another that says bin the instructor. Getting my pony on the bit has been a very long process and only really made possible by having a fab instructor who couldn’t care less about what her head/mouth are doing. Been focussing entirely on her back end and really getting her to work straight and through from behind and over her back.

Lots and lots of work on rhythm, balance and suppleness.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

Stop worrying about his head and ride him from behind up into the contact. As above a better instructor will be able to help you.

 

[splashgirl45]

are your hands still when you do rising trot, best to get yourself videoed and see what is happening, are your hands going up and down with your body, its not as easy to keep a nice steady contact in rising trot as it is with walking and cantering, so that could be part of the problem...do lots and lots of transitions and changes of direction to get him working from behind and try not to worry too much about head position...

 

[PeachnRo38197]

It sounds like his rushing so is unbalanced but difficult to say without actually seeing him.

Do you have an instructor?

I do but have been working on finding a new one as I have a few issues with them, one of them above being that they sometimes get me to do things that make my horse and I very tense and uncomfortable, and other members have highlighted the same issue. Just incredibly hard to source a good one as where I’m based there aren’t many and I likely need to travel far to get a decent one but if it will help me and my horse progress it’s worth it

 

[PeachnRo38197]

Another that says bin the instructor. Getting my pony on the bit has been a very long process and only really made possible by having a fab instructor who couldn’t care less about what her head/mouth are doing. Been focussing entirely on her back end and really getting her to work straight and through from behind and over her back.

Lots and lots of work on rhythm, balance and suppleness.

I’m hoping to get a new instructor for the flat after seeing everyone’s replies - I have a jumping instructor who is absolutely fabulous so I might enquire to him if he does lessons on the flat because he primarily does jumping clinics, but I’ve been a bit dubious about my other instructor for awhile now as they have made me try a few questionable things during some training sessions and this thread has just highlighted this for me. He’s a lovely horse so if I want him to do something for me I want him to do it comfortably and correctly. Thank you for your suggestion ?

 

[PeachnRo38197]

Your instructor sounds like an idiot. You don’t hold a horse on the big, you ride it forward into the contact.

You need someone who understands what they’re doing.

It’s possible your rising trot is throwing him off balance and making it impossible for him to work through from behind, but it’s equally possible all you’ve done so far is hold his head in a forced position and contact and he hasn’t actually been on the bit at all. Impossible to say without seeing you.

Definitely a possibility about my balance throwing him off - I’m only back in the saddle a few months after over 15 years of a break so my seat isn’t the best. When cantering and walking without my instructor being there I do ride him into the contact and my reins aren’t tight I give him his head and he does it no problem and he definitely is working from behind and into the contact in those two gaits I’m just unsure what’s happening when trotting so balance could be an option. Definitely changing instructor after posting here, I was already a bit unsure of them when I first starting going through the recommendation of a friend 2 months ago as they basically told me not to do any of the stuff I had been taught to do when I was younger and made me hold him up all the time, which in turn made me feel so bad because that’s not the way I had ridden before and not the way I want to ride. Thanks for your input?

 

[AFB]

I do but have been working on finding a new one as I have a few issues with them, one of them above being that they sometimes get me to do things that make my horse and I very tense and uncomfortable, and other members have highlighted the same issue. Just incredibly hard to source a good one as where I’m based there aren’t many and I likely need to travel far to get a decent one but if it will help me and my horse progress it’s worth it

If you give an area on here you'll get recommendations

 

[sbloom]

On the aids comes way before being "on the bit" - the round, on the bit thing, is a result of correct work. The horse has to be straight, lifting a little in front and accepting of all aids, and then round will come, though it's an unfortunate word as horses that are round are so often low in the poll or behind the vertical neither of which is correct.

I would also suggest saddle, though as a saddle fitter I would lol, but if it's low in front and lifting at the back rising trot would be the most challenging and give the most movement, and it might be okay in walk and canter. Have someone video you in all three paces and see what the saddle does if you want to educate your eye and further understanding and see if what I say could be true, otherwise of course have out a recommended saddle fitter.

 

[Mule]

I wonder are you less balanced in the rising trot? That could be the problem. If you are less balanced the horse will be too. Horse use their necks to balance. That may be why his head is unsteady in trot. I would get an instructor to have a look at your rising trot on the lunge and see. There's more movement on the rider's part in the rising trot so it's easier to get unbalanced.

 

[Leandy]

as soon as I play with his mouth he works back into the contact

Um as others have said, you need a better instructor to help you achieve this. Fiddling him "back" into the contact is not working on the bit. He needs to go forward to the contact from the back end, over his back and neck, not have his nose pulled back in. It is hard to advise you though without seeing you ride. Is he properly off the leg or are you needing to nag him along and hold him together? The other possibility, and I hate to say it, is that he is not completely sound - probably bilaterally - somewhere, and he struggles most in maintaining a balanced trot because it is a two time symmetical movement and he is nodding with the lack of regularity which means you can't get to him lightening in front and carrying himself. This will be more hidden in walk and canter.